What to look for when buying a plot of land for self-builds

Grand Designs Live in underway at the Excel Centre in London and housefixer.co.uk went along to pick up some tips from the experts.

Here are the tips for picking the right block of land for a self-build project from experts Ted Stevens, chairman of the National Self Build Association; Mike Hardwick, managing director at MH Self Build; Duncan Baker-Brown, from Sustainable Design and George Clarke, architect and television presenter.

• If a plot doesn’t have planning permission it will be cheap, but it is cheap for a reason.
• Never buy land without planning permission. Work into the contract that the sale is subject to planning permission.
• Consider plots on the boundary of a local town where development may go unopposed.
• A knock-down rebuild is much easier to get planning permission for.
• Look for homes built in the 60s and 70s for knock-down re-build potential.
• A basic re-build can cost much less than a self build on a vacant plot because the services such as water pipes, electricity and gas hook-ups are already setup.
• It is cheaper to knock-down and rebuild than renovate an old house. Renovation incurs a 20 per cent VAT. But when re-building the VAT can be claimed back.
• Check out land in recently released green belts but ensure you check for planning permission.

These are just some of the great tips you can get at talks being held at the Grand Designs Live event, for more details visit the event website.
 

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• expert
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• grand designs live
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• self build